Final Fourcast…and more

Hoops Haven entered four pools and came up empty (thank you, Roy Williams), so we caution that these picks are for recreational purposes only.

Ohio State 75, Georgetown 73: Greg Oden and Roy Hibbert play to a draw, but Ohio State’s guards are the difference. Conley, Lewis, et al are athletic enough to stifle Georgetown’s perimeter shooting, and there’s only so much the Hoyas can get through the backdoor with Oden standing guard. All bets are off if the refs decide to call ticky-tack fouls inside (please, please let the behemoths slug it out on their own terms). If Driscoll, Cahill or Burr draw this game, we’re gonna be sick.

Florida 67, UCLA 60: Embarrassed by last year’s title-game debacle, UCLA puts its best foot forward and leads for much of the game, but Florida’s inside game wears down the Bruins’ bigs in the last five minutes. Much of the world will be shocked if UCLA wins this game. We will not be, but it’s foolish to pick against the defending champs.

We welcome predictions from our basketball-savvy readership…

MORE STUFF OF INTEREST FOR HOOP HEADS…..–Does Billy Packer make you cringe? If so, you have to read this USA Todaystory about him.The guy is a first-class egomaniac. I’m half surprised he didn’t claim to have helped James Naismith put up the other peach basket. Give him credit for one thing, though—he doesn’t pull any punches in this interview.Here’s the link: nuttybillypacker–Fellow Seton Hall beat writer J.P. Pelzman has written an outstanding story on The Hall’s 1989 Final Four team. Great quotes from John Morton, Anthony Avent and Pookey Wigington. Morton is right…that team was NOT a Cinderella.

John Clougherty’s awful foul call with three seconds left will be his epitaph, and he knows it. Has there ever been another call in a major sport’s championship game that so clearly swung the verdict from one team to another?Anyway, here’s the link: the1989finalfourteam

–Also, J.P. is blogging from the Final Four in Atlanta. His first entry has noteworthy stuff about that 89 team and Rutgers’ 1976 Final Four squad. J.P. has a good eye for interesting tidbits, so keep an eye on his entries this weekend.Here’s the link to that: http://njmg.typepad.com/final4/

–Keep your other eye on Bowling Green’s coaching search. Louis Orr is a serious candidate. The MAC school, which hasn’t been to the NCAA Tourney since 1968, could do a whole lot worse than Orr, a capable coach and a gentleman who has Ohio roots.

–Eight of my 10 Wooden Award selections made the All-America team. The exceptions were Chris Lofton and Drew Neitzel (Tyler Hansbrough and Aaron Brooks got the nod instead). Georgetown’s Jeff Green, by the way, was left off the list of finalists in an egregious oversight by the Wooden committee. Stats don’t mean everything, fellas.

–Lastly, nice job by West Virginia in Thursday night’s NIT final. The Mounties’ title was good for the Big East and good for the program. They came within five seconds of making the NCAA Tourney, and they would have been a handful for somebody in the first round (unlike, say, Stanford and Arkansas).

The long-running debate among hoops aficianados revolves around the worth of a strong NIT showing. There have been teams that built off of it (Connecticut in 1988, Stanford in 1991, Wake Forest in 2000, Memphis in 2002) and ones that didn’t (Nebraska in 1996, St. John’s in 2003, Michigan in 2004, South Carolina in 2005 and 2006).

West Virginia, with its young roster, would seem to be a team capable of using this as a stepping stone. Of course, that could change in a flash if Michigan or another school poaches John Beilein, who is one of the 10 best bench coaches in the country.

Bloomfield Tech’s DeSean Butler posted 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds, by the way, and Summit’s Wellington Smith added two points and three boards. Both of those guys are freshmen.

Enjoy the hoops. We’ll be back Sunday night with a title-game preview.

About Jerry Carino

Jerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.

2 Responses to Final Fourcast…and more

If you look hard enough, I’m sure you can find three or four people who have picked the same exact score for tomorrow.

It’s not rocket science, folks.

About this Blog

Since its launch in 2006, Hoops Haven has become a staple of the New Jersey basketball community. This is the place to find breaking news, analysis and links about college and high school basketball in the Garden State.

About the Author

Jerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.Email Jerry.